Outside attacker Nick Meyer said he wasn't ready for his collegiate career to end Saturday.
Meyer had a match-high 19 kills as the No. 13 Ball State University men's volleyball team eliminated Lewis University 30-26, 30-27, 30-26 in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tournament quarterfinals Saturday.
"Nick did a great job," coach Joel Walton said. "There were a couple times when sets weren't exactly where he's used to them being and he was still able to do something with the ball."
Meyer had a team-high two serving aces and two of the team's nine blocks Saturday.
Walton said Meyer's kills and aces came at critical times, late in the games, and Meyer helped keep the younger players composed in their first postseason match.
"It's great to see Nick leading our team in these crucial matches and that's the kind of thing we are going to expect him to continue to do," Walton said. "He's just got to help everyone find their rhythm. It's going to help everyone if he's out there playing like we know Nick Meyer is capable of playing, which is at a high quality."
Meyer is one of two seniors for the Cardinals (18-11, 9-4 MIVA) and is fifth on Ball State's all-time career kills list with 1,394.
This tournament is Meyer's final chance to win his first MIVA Championship.
Meyer said before Saturday's match he didn't think about the possibility of it being his final match.
"That thought never entered my mind," Meyer said. "I try to focus on the positive and focus on the match."
With the win, Ball State advances to the conference semi-finals against No. 1 seed The Ohio State University Thursday at Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes (22-3, 10-2 MIVA) received a bye in the MIVA quarterfinals after winning the regular season title. Thursday will be Ohio State's first match in 12 days.
Ball State and Ohio State spilt the season series 1-1.-áIn their most recent match on April 13, the Cardinals beat the Buckeyes in four games.
"It's always a great chance to go into an opponent's place," Meyer said. "They're the No. 1 seed, they can be big-headed and we are on a roll. We're playing well and they're on a little bit of a slide so we need to go in and take advantage of that."
Saturday Ball State had a .226 attack percentage, compared to Lewis' .180 attack percentage.-á The Cardinals out-killed Lewis 46-44.
Walton said despite the sweep he was disappointed with the way Ball State played against Lewis (17-14, 5-8 MIVA).
"I wanted us to play better and maybe I wanted us to play a perfect match," Walton said. "I expected our offense to run better than it did.-á [Ethan] Pheister was setting balls out of our normal tempo, which made it hard for our attackers to get on track."
Saturday was Lewis' first postseason match since 2004 because of an NCAA suspension.
Walton said due to the suspensions Lewis has a team of all freshman and sophomores, and the postseason experience will make the Flyers better in upcoming seasons.
"It's a good group of athletes and that team is a team to be reckoned with in the next couple of years," Walton said. "Lewis is going to start reeking the benefits as those kids as they get more and more experience."-á
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